Turning Inherited Jewelry Into New Custom Designs

Nothing in life is harder than losing a loved one. That is why it means so much to us to hang onto objects that remind us of that person. Jewelry seems to hold cherished memories. At Yanke Designs, we tend to do a lot of remounting of rings, pendants, and pins passed down to daughters, sons, granddaughters, grandsons, nieces, nephews, and best friends. Just recently, one of our customers, Linda, stopped by the studio to have us look at some pieces of jewelry she had inherited after the passing of her mother. She arrived with a number of jewelry items but she was most interested in having something done with two of her mother’s diamond rings.berryjam.ru

Linda already had several rings and felt that she would get a lot more enjoyment and use if she had them remade into pendants. While we were working on different styles, Linda kept mentioning how she remembered her mother wearing these items and how much they made her think of her. She was very close to her mother and it took her a long time to come in and see us, having this done was a very hard thing to do.Зимняк

Sometimes when we do a remount we don’t pull all of the stones out of whatever is being remounted. In fact, that is what we did in Linda’s case. We tried to keep as much of the rings intact and convert those pieces into two pendants.

One of the rings that Linda had was a seven stone, round cluster style. The center section was mounted on a simple style band. We removed the entire cluster section but kept it intact. Next, we melted down the band portion and used it in the new pendent design. Linda also wanted to incorporate amethyst into the pendent, which is her birthstone. The soft curved style pendent looked beautiful with the seven stone cluster mounted in the bottom portion and a fine quality amethyst mounted towards the top.

The other ring was more of a “fishtail” style. It was an engagement ring style that was very popular in the 30’s and 40’s. The major diamond was in the center with smaller diamonds mounted on each side. On this pendent we decided to keep the diamond in its original head, which was an illusion style, again popular in the 30’s and 40’s. It seemed to need a little more design so Kim Yanke added a frame around the head. Next, we custom made a “V” style bale and pave set the small diamonds into it. We melted down the gold from the ring and repurposed it into the pendant.

Linda loved both of the pendants. She told Kim Yanke that her mother would have been so proud of her workmanship and beautiful design. Linda was very happy that we were able to keep a lot of the original rings in each pendent and use the leftover gold in the new mountings. I know we’ve done something special when the customer has a tear in their eye and a hug for everyone in the studio.

About Yanke Designs

Inspired by the fire and beauty of natural gemstones, Frank and Kim Yanke create custom designed jewelry such as rings, necklaces, bracelets and more. Embarking together on a mission to design and manufacture custom made jewelry, Frank and Kim Yanke opened for business in 1981. In 1989 they settled in Franklin Village, where their store, Yanke Designs, is a well-known destination for people seeking one-of-a-kind jewelry to mark an engagement, wedding, anniversary, birthday or other special occasion .

The Yanke Designs showroom features 100% original designs created by the Yankes. In addition to pieces in the showroom, Yanke Designs creates custom designs by educating their clients on gem selection and walking them through the entire design process. The Yankes provide the expert craftsmanship and the personal touch that makes each piece unique.